The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-26

the consequence is that all along the busi-
ness streets of all our cities there are mer-
chants of small capital, who are in terrific
struggle to keep their heads above water The
Cunarders run down the Newfoundland
fishing smacks This is nothing against the
man who has the big store, for every man
has as large store, and as great business
as he can manage. To feel right, and do
right under all this pressure requires martyr
grace, requires divine support, requires
celestial reinforcement. Yet there are tens
of thousands of such men getting splendidly
through. They see others going up and
themselves going down, and they
age, and their Christian consistency and
after while their turn of success
will come. The owners of the big business
will die and their boys will get possession of
the business, and with a cigar in their
mouth, and full to the chin with the best
liquor, and behind pair of spanking bays,
they will pass everything on the turnpike
road to temporal and eternal perdition.
Then the business will break up, and the
smaller dealers will have fair opportunity.
Or the spirit OF contentment and right feel
ing will take possession of the large firm, rs
recently in the case of the great house of A.
A. Low & Co., and the firm will say: 1--WE
have enough money for all our needs, and
the needs of our children; now let us dissolve
business and make way for other men in
the same linen Instead of being startled at
a solitary instance of magnanimity, as in
the case just mentioned, it will become a
common thing. ] know of scores of great
business houses that have had their oppor
tunity of vast accumulation, and
who ought to quit. But perhaps for all the
days of this generation the struggle of small
houses to keep alive under the overshadow-
ing pressure of great houses will con6nue;
therefore, taking things as they are, you
will be wise to preserve your equilibrium,
and your honesty, and your faith and throw
over all the counters, and shelves, and bar
rels, and hogsheads, and cotton bales, and
rice casks. the measuring line of divine
right "And the Lord said unto me, Amos,
what seest thouP and | said: "A plumb
line ~
In the same way we need to measure our
theologies All sorts of religions are putting
forth their pretensons. Some have
spiritualistic religion, and their chief work is
with ghosts, and others religion of politi-
cal economy proposing to put an end to
human misery by new style of taxation,
and there is a humanitarian religion that
looks after the body of men and lets the
soul look after itself, and there is a legisla-
tive religion that proposes to rectify all
wrongs by enactment of better laws, and
there is an aesthetic religion that by rules of
exquisite taste would lift the heart out of
its deformities, and religions of all sorts, re-
ligions by the peck, religions by the square
foot, and religions buy the ton-all of them
devices of the devil that would take the
heart away from the only religion that will
ever effect anything for the human race, and
that the straight up and down religion writ
ten in the book, which begins with, Genesis
and ends with Revelation, the religion of the
skies, the old religion, the God-given pc
ligion, the everlasting religion, which says:
"Love God above all and your neighbor as
yourself" All religions but the one begin
at the wrong end and in the wrong place
The Bible religion demands that we first get
right with God. 1t begins at the top and
measures down, while the other religions
begin at the bottom and try to measure up
They stand at the foot of the wall, up to
their knees i'll the mud of human theory
and speculation, and have plummet and a
string tied fast to it. And they throw the
plummet this way, and break a head there,
and throw the plummet another way, and
break a head there, and then they throw it
up, and it comes down upon their own
pate. Fools Why will you stand at
the foot of the wall measuring up
when YOU ought to stand at the top
measuring downs A few days ago | was in
the country, thirsty after a long walk. And
/ came in, and my child was blowing soap
bubbles, and they rolled out of the cup,
blue, and gold, and green, and Sparkling
and beautiful, and orbicular, and in so small
a space | never saw more splendor concen-
trated But she blew once too often and all
the glory vanished into suds. Then | turn
ed and took glass of plain water, and was
refreshed. And SO far as soul thirst is con-
cerned, put against all the glowing, gilt
tering soap-bubbles of worldly reform and
human speculation, one draught from the
fountain from under the throne of God,
clear as crystal Glory be to God for the
religion that drops from above, not coming
up from beneath "And the Lord said unto
me, Amos, what seest thou? and / said, "A
plumbline.'n
/ want you to notice this fact, that when
man gives up the straight up-and-down
religion in the Bible for any new-fangled
religion, it is generally TO suit his sins. You
first hear of his change of religion, and then
you hear of some swindle he has practiced
in Colorado mining stock, telling some one
if he will put in ten thousand dollars he can
take out a hundred thousand, or he has
sacrificed his chastity, or plunged into ire
mediable worldliness. His sins are so broad
he has to broaden his religion, and he be-
comes as broad as temptation, as broad as the
souls darkness, as broad as hell They
want a religion that will allow them to
keep their SINS, and then at death say to
them: "Well done, good and faithful SER
vant,n and that tells them: ''All is well for
there is no hell What a glorious heaven
they hold before us! Come, let Us go in and
see it. There is Herod and all the babes he
massacred. There is Charles Guiteau, and
Jim Fiske, and Robespierre, the friend Of
the French guillotine, and all the liars,
thieves, house-burners, garroters, pick
pockets and libertines of all the centuries.
They have all got crowns, and thrones, and
harps, and sceptres, and when they chant
they sing: Thanksgiving. and honor, and
glory. and power TO the Broad Religion that
let us all into heaven without repentance
and faith in those disgraceful dogmas Of
ecclesiasti' al old-fogyism"
My text gives me IA grand opportunity of
saying useful word 20 ali young men, who
are now forming habits for a lifetime. OF
what use 20 a stcnemason or bricklayer Is
a plumbline. Why not build the wall by
the unaided eye and handi Because they
are Insufficient because If there he a defiec-
ton in the wall it cannot farther on be cor
rected Because by the law of gravitation
a wall must be straight in order 10 be SYM
metrical and safe. A young man is in dan
ger of getting defect in his wall Of charac-
ter that may never be corrected. One Of
the best friends ever had died Of delirium
tremens, at 90 years Of age, though he had
not, since II years OF age--before which he
had been dissipated touched Intoxicating
liquor until that particular carouSal that
took him Off. Not feeling well in "A street,
on a hot summer day. he stepped into a
drug store, Just as you and would have
done, and asked for a dose Of something 10